WEEKLY FOCUS

#92

Lifestyle for Environment:

From Mindless Consumer to Mindful Citizen
Humans make hundreds of thousands of decisions during the course of their lives. For the lucky among us,
those decisions will vary wildly. What food to eat? What house to live in? How to get to work in the morning?
What type of clothes to wear? How to spend my spare time? The list is endless. No matter how we choose
to answer these questions, the lifestyles we end up living or, in some cases, are forced to live have a
profound impact on our planet, affecting everything especially the health of our environment.
In this scenario, the concept of sustainable lifestyles has been gaining prominence across the world,
especially in India. With sustainable living being rooted in Indian culture, India has become a flagbearer for
the cause as evident by the launch of the Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) mission.
Against this backdrop, let us first understand what exactly the concept of LiFE means? How are human
lifestyles impacting the environment? What is the significance of putting individual and the community at
the centre of environmental efforts? What impediments lie in the path towards transitioning to sustainable
lifestyles? What more can be done to facilitate a transition to sustainable lifestyles? In this edition, we will
attempt to answer all these questions.

What is the meaning behind the concept of

‘Lifestyle for the environment’?
The concept of Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) was introduced by the Indian Prime Minister at 26th
United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow in 2021.
It called upon the global community of individuals and institutions to drive LiFE as an international mass
movement towards “mindful and deliberate utilization, instead of mindless and destructive consumption”
to protect and preserve the environment.
LiFE puts individual and collective duty on everyone to live a life that is in tune with Earth and does not
harm it. Those who practice such a lifestyle are recognized as Pro Planet People (P3).
Through the P3 community, LiFE seeks to create an ecosystem that will reinforce and enable
environmentally friendly behaviours to be self-sustainable.
The underlying philosophy of life is rooted in India’s ancient saying that Nature protects if she is protected.
Mindful and deliberate utilization, promoted under the concept encourages-
Responsible Consumption: Taking only as much as is needed, using products to the end of their lives.
Living in Harmony with Nature by practicing the philosophy of 'Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam' (the World in
One Family) and living a life with compassion for all living beings.
Sustainable Resource Management to reduce overconsumption and promote equitable access to
resources.
Coexistence and Cooperation among countries and communities through the promotion of science
and innovation, knowledge exchange, dissemination of best practices, and conservation of traditional
knowledge systems.

Mission life
Mission LiFE was launched at the Three phases of Mission LIFE Approach*
Statue of Unity at Kevadia, Gujarat
to protect the environment in
2022. Change in Supply
Change in Policy
Trigger shifts in
It seeks to translate the vision of Large-scale individual
large- scale industrial
Change in Demand demand change to
and government
LiFE into measurable impact, gradually nudge
Nudging individuals policies to support
designed with the objective to across the stakeholders to respond
sustainable
world to practice and tailor supply and
consumption and
mobilize at least 1 billion Indians and simple yet effective procurement as per the
production by
revised demands
other global citizens to take environment- influencing the demand
friendly actions in and supply dynamics of
individual and collective action for their daily lives India and the world
protecting and conserving the
environment in the period ***-Each proceeding phase will organically feed into the next phase.
2022–28. At the same time, all phases are equally simultaneous in nature.

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 Within India, at least 80% of all villages and urban local bodies are aimed to become
environment-friendly by 2028.
Given the global commitment to achieving the SDGs by 2030, Mission LiFE contributes directly and
indirectly to almost all the SDGs
As a global program, it envisions three core shifts in our collective approach toward sustainability.
Other features of the Mission:
Global Call for Ideas and Papers: Ideas and research proposals are invited from leading global
scholars on how environment-friendly actions can be adopted by individuals, communities, and
institutions in a measurable and attributable manner.
LiFE Compendium of Global Best and Traditional Practices: NITI Aayog and MoEFCC, in partnership
with United Nations India, will create a comprehensive repository of traditional and contemporary
best practices from around the world that facilitate the adoption of environment-friendly lifestyles by
individuals and communities.
Partnering with other countries MoEFCC and the Ministry of External Affairs, with the support of NITI
Aayog, will coordinate efforts to continually identify and build the capacity of countries worldwide to
implement Mission LiFE.
Proposed International LiFE Day: By demonstrating the impact of sustainable lifestyles, Mission LiFE
will endeavor to mobilize the global community to adopt International LiFE Day.

How are human lifestyles impacting the

environment?
Given that consumption is What are the main drivers
heavily embedded in lifestyles, of our lifestyle choices?
some key domains have been Lifestyles and consumption are governed by a set of complex and
identified where consumption dynamic drivers, which reflect the personal situation (income, identity,
and lifestyles have the highest individual taste, and values) and external socio-technical and
environmental impacts by economic conditions (culture, social context, peer pressures, etc.).
combining an understanding of
Income level
consumption patterns, Values (personal or broader
More disposable income means greater cultural or ethical)
life-cycle analysis, and affordability of goods and services and easier
Determinants of attitudes and actions,
sustainability indicators for access to more credit, which can further
foundation of lifestyle decisions.
consumerism.
carbon, material, and ecological People tend to consume to fulfill
Social pressure compounded to maintain
value-laden objectives
foot-printing. These domains lifestyle levels once adopted.
Key lifestyle
and their major impacts have drivers Infrastructure
Social norms and peers
been stated as below- Hardware such as buildings, provision systems
Family background, social circles, for water and sewage, electricity, waste
colleague expectations, professional management, telecommunications networks,
decorum and social practices, etc. and public transportation networks.
influence lifestyles.

Food: What we eat and drink – how it is produced, processed, and

provided – and how we dispose of it all?
Highly processed and packaged Household food wastage: 61% of around 931 Dietary patterns
food million tonnes of food waste was generated in High income
Uses a lot of resources like 2019 came from households. individuals increasingly
energy, water, chemicals, etc. Leads to methane emissions. favor more
to produce. resource-intensive
Puts additional pressure on agricultural
Creates a lot of toxic and (GHG-producing) foods
land, with farmers resorting to
plastic waste, clogging landfills such as processed
unsustainable and polluting methods of
and polluting oceans. foods and meats.
cultivation.

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 Housing: How we live, where we live, what is used to build, heat, and
cool our living spaces, and what we install in our houses?
Greenhouse gas emission Mining for resources needed for construction Cities have replaced
In 2021, the operation of of modern houses the natural land cover
buildings accounted for 30% of Major cause of biodiversity loss, Dense concentrations of
global final energy deforestation, and leaching of hazardous pavement, buildings, and
consumption and 27% of total chemicals in the environment. other surfaces absorb
energy sector emissions. and retain heat, altering
the climate and
adversely affecting local
biodiversity.

Mobility: What forms of transport we choose, how often we travel,

and the distance traveled as well as the supporting systems and
infrastructure?
Greenhouse gas emission Pollution from growing Vehicles ownership: Resource intensive
means of transport
The transport sector is The annual car sales alone in India are
responsible for 15% percent of projected to increase from the current 3.5 Chemicals, and other
greenhouse gas emissions. million to about 10.5 million by 2030. hazardous particulates
Growing vehicles are causing issues like- from aircraft and
airport terminal
Noise and carbon monoxide emissions.
operations pollute air
Smog and acid rain and water systems.

Consumer goods: The products we buy, the type and quantity of

materials that are used in producing them, how we use them, and how
often we replace them?
Expanding role of electric and Growing demand of globalised consumer Planned obsolescence
electronic products in modern products Products have
lifestyles ever-shorter useful
High GHG emission from logistical supply
Leads to environmental chains. lives, so people will
impacts, through the growth of consume more of them.
electronic waste, pollution, and
mining of rare earth metals.

Leisure: How we spend leisure time, our choice of tourism

destinations and activities, and the facilities we use?
High emission lifestyles Nature based Tourism products Wasteful consumption in leisure
and services activities
10% of households with the Contribute to biodiversity loss,
highest per capita emissions Increasing energy usage.
stress on key resources, land
contribute a fragmentation, forest fires etc. High emission transport services.
disproportionately large share
of global household GHG Consumption based on trends
emissions. and not needs, e.g., fast fashion,
with low lifecycle and high waste.

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 What is the significance of putting individual and the
community at the centre of environmental efforts?
As evident, lifestyle choices have a profound impact on the environment. This is one of the primary reasons
why the concept of LiFE puts individual efforts at the core of efforts towards protection of the environment.
Other reasons have been described as below-
Tailored approach to environmental efforts:
Any efforts directly involving the
Individual vs collective action: Where does
community helps in identifying the choices the responsibility to protect the
and preferences regarding the lifestyle at
the local level. Such understanding can
environment lie?
help identify and give credibility to a Individual action refers to the actions taken by one
variety of cultural and social ways of individual person, acting based on his or her personal
sustainable lifestyles. decisions. Collective action refers to the actions taken by a
collection or group of people, acting based on a collective
Encourages environmental problem solving: decision.
Community participation pools resources
and diverse skills and working strategies For example, if you choose to walk instead of drive,
from within the community, creating pride then you are taking an individual action. Or, if you are
and ownership towards protecting part of a city where local government chooses to
environment. install sidewalks to help people there walk more, then
you are involved in a collective action.
Long-lasting generational impacts:
Bringing individuals to a common platform It is often debated that the onus to take substantive action
in relation to the environment are one of lies on large entities, government and private alike, as
the launching steps in the continuous individual actions can only have an inconsequential effect in
process of awareness building and the efforts to protect the environment, including
attitudinal change. This is the only way to combating climate change.
bring any real change in the long term. Arguments in favour of collective action-
Improving procedural legitimacy of Fixation on voluntary action alone takes the pressure
environmental policies: Awareness about off of the push for governmental policies to hold
the environmental impacts of personal corporate polluters accountable.
choices helps in enhancing democratic
Individual actions are reliant on things outside their
legitimacy of environmental decisions at a
control such as availability, accessibility and
larger scale.
affordability of sustainable options.
Interlinkages with Personal well-being:
To tackle systemic global environmental issues
Certain ways in which sustainable choices
collective action by multiple institutions are needed.
in our life are linked with personal
wellbeing include- Arguments in favour of Individual actions-
Mental and Physical health: Zero In a society, an individual has the ethical duty to take
emission transport such as cycling, are responsibility for their personal choices.
not only good for the environment but Individual actions can ultimately lead to collective action
can also help improve our at a large scale.
cardiovascular health, increase fitness
levels and relieve stress. Top-down approach cannot be effective without
behavioural and attitudinal changes in the society.
Social wellbeing: Engaging in
environmental activism, volunteering,
and building a social network in the local In conclusion, we need to stop putting personal action
community, can help in finding a sense and collective action in opposition to each other as if
of purpose and belonging. there were some kind of activism zero-sum game. The
Effective Monitoring & Evaluation: environmental movement needs to sustain a way to do
Community participation will ensure that both: agitate and organize for systemic change while also
checking and corrective action through still encouraging individual behavior changes.
monitoring/evaluation can be done by and for the community itself. The local community can ensure
close vigilance through community involvement by controlling its own actions, and outputs.

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 In Conversation
Fundamental duty towards the environment

Vinay: Hey Vini! Did you notice the smog today? The pollution in our city is
getting worse day by day.
Vini: Yeah, it's concerning. But sadly, there is nothing we can do to change it.
Vinay: That’s not completely true Vini. We all can make sustainable changes in
our lifestyle to help clean up the environment. For example, you can carpool or
use public transport to reduce air pollution.
Vini: But how can small changes in my personal life address such a huge
problem! And anyways isn’t it the duty of the government to provide us with a
healthy environment as a fundamental right.
Vinay: It is Vini. But as responsible citizens we also have the fundamental
duty to protect the environment. Moreover, small changes in all our lives can
manifest results on a large scale.
Vini: You are right Vinay. As citizens, we can also organize and put political
pressure on the governance systems to be take more environment friendly
measures.
Vinay: Exactly! All of us have a part to play in protecting the environment.

What are some of the lifestyle changes that can help

protect the future of our planet?

Circular lifestyle
A model of production and
consumption, which involves
DESIGN
sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, RAW MATERIALS
refurbishing, and recycling existing
materials and products as long as
possible.
PRODUCTION,
It implies reducing waste to a RECYCLING REMANUFACTURING
CIRCULAR
minimum. ECONOMY
When a product reaches the end of
its life, its materials are kept within
the economy wherever possible. RESIDUAL WASTE DISTRIBUTION
These can be productively used
again and again, thereby creating
further value COLLECTION Consumption, use,
reuse, repair

Circular economy can generate around INR 14 lakh

crore of additional cost savings by 2030.

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 Right to repair
Need of Right to Repair
Refers to enabling consumers to movement
independently repair and modify their own Do away with ‘planned obsolescence’.
consumer goods (such as electronic,
Reduce immense pressure on the environment
automotive, or farm machinery like tractors). and wasted natural resources.
It requires manufacturers to not limit access Boost business for small repair shops
to tools and components or put up software Save money and time of the consumer.
barriers to prevent independent repair or
modification.

Minimalism Mindful about spending habits

creating less stress on the ecosystem.

The Philosophy that combats mindless

consumerism by promoting living simply or Principles of
Buying only necessary and good
living with less. minimalist quality materials.
lifestyles
It is not only good for the environment, but
also saves time and money and is Giving unused stuff away
significantly less stressful. supporting curricular economy.

Zero waste living 5 R'S OF ZERO WASTE

Aims to reduce the amount of waste an Refuse
individual creates on a daily basis. Single-use and disposable items.
Reduce
The primary purpose of this lifestyle is a
commitment to sending as little waste to Your consuption and carbon footprint.
landfills as possible. Reuse
As much as possible. Repair things too.
For example, individuals can refuse plastic
packaging, carry cloth bags, buy locally Recycle
from farmer’s market, segregate waste at What you cannot refuse, reduce or reuse.
source, etc
Rot
Compost anything leftover and living.

Mindful consumption
SELF
Its roots can be traced back to the
CARING
principles of Buddhism, which defines MINDSET SOCIETY
mindfulness as a “deliberate and
NATURE
conscious focus on the present moment”.
Encompasses consumer behaviors
MINDFUL
where an individual with a CONSUMPTION
compassionate concern towards self,
community and environment, carefully REDUCE/RECONSIDER
attends to and be aware of his/her CARING
consumption needs, while adopting REUSE/REPAIR
CONSUMPTION
flexible options and novel approaches in RECYCLE/RE-IMAGINE
the purchase, usage and disposal of
goods in order to reduce his/her overall
consumption.

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 Personal choices for climate change mitigation: What can every person
do to limit warming to 1.5°C?
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), if 1 out of every 8 people
worldwide adopt environment-friendly behaviours in their daily lives, global carbon emissions
could drop upto 20%. Some personal choices that can help mitigate for climate change have
been presented below-

Personal choices to reduce your contribution to climate change

60
*Cumulative emissions 50
from descendants;
decreases substantially 40

Annual climate saving (tCO2e)

if national emissions 30
decrease. 20
4

1
Average values for
developed countries,
based on current
emissions.
Upgrade Hang dry Recycle Wash Replace Eat a plant Switch Buy green Avoid one Live Have one
light bulbs clothes clothes in typical car based electric car energy roundtrip car free fewer child
cold water with hybird diet to car free transatlantic
flight

Low Impact Moderate Impact High Impact

<0.2 tCO₂e 0.8-0.2 tCO₂e >0.8 tCO₂e

What impediments lie in the path towards

transitioning to sustainable lifestyles?
The “Iron Cage” of Consumerism: The institutions of our capitalist consumer society often encourage
individualism, competition and mindless consumption to drive economic growth. E.g., ownership of
private transport is popularised as an aspirational goal through advertisements to boost vehicle
sales.
Socio-economic inequity and challenge of choices: The availability, accessibility and affordability of
sustainable products is lower than that of conventional products. This makes opting for sustainable
choices especially difficult for marginalized and low-income population.
For instance, natural fibres are more expensive than mass produced chemically synthesized
fibres.
Infeasibility of one-size fits all approach: Contexts and resources to adopt sustainable lifestyles vary
considerably across population. Sustainable practices that make sense for a certain community can
be completely unviable for others.
For instance, in the state of Himachal Pradesh in India, a shift from LPG to electricity among rural
households, with induction stoves, has been successful due to the availability of stable and
continuous electricity, which has been difficult to achieve in any other Indian state.

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 The Paradox of Well-being: In modern
society, progress and well-being is often
confused with the capabilities to
Well-being vs Climate mitigation: Is demand
participate in and afford mindless reduction as a solution to climate change
consumption.
compatible with the growth of human
Crucial factors like—family,
friendship, health, peer approval, are well-being?
known to have a strong correlation
with reported happiness are ignored in Improving living standards and well-being of an individual
the process. in our society are often linked with growing demand of
primary energy and physical resources which are main
Greenwashing: It refers to the provision drivers of GHG emissions.
and dissemination of false or misleading
information about the sustainability of a In this regard demand-side mitigation strategies are often
company’s product or service. pitched to have potential to improve the social
Companies responsible for constituents of well-being.
greenwashing spend more money and Demand-side solutions for mitigation of climate change
time portraying themselves as modify demand for goods and services by targeting
environmentally friendly, rather than lifestyles, among other things, to improve accessibility
actually making efforts to introduce and living conditions and increase nutritional quality while
sustainability in their business strategies decreasing energy input and emissions GHG.
and operations.
For example, reducing the demand for biomass among
It not only presents a false picture of women through provision of clean-cook stoves can save
the environmental progress in the eyes their time for biomass collection and cooking and
of consumers, but also rewards enhance their participation in economic and social life.
entities for irresponsible behaviour.
Difficulties in measuring sustainability: From an
implementation perspective, understanding how to
measure and scale sustainable lifestyles still remains
challenging. Climate
change
The means of measuring sustainability at the Chemical Bio diversity
global or national level are well established, but pollution loss
tools for individual or household level are not as
well developed.
Consideration of the physical limits of the planet not Biogeochemical
Atmospheric
fully linked to wellbeing: The interlinkages between aerosols flows

the science of planetary boundaries and well-being Nine Planetary

have not been fully understood and mainstreamed Boundaries
into establishing sustainable lifestyles.
Limitations of current understanding based on Ozone
Ocean
acidification
standard domains: Currently, much of the focus depletion

within sustainable lifestyles are around domains

such as food, buildings, mobility, consumer goods,
Freshwater Land use
and leisure. Although consideration of these areas is use change
vital, an overemphasis may prevent proper
consideration of different lifestyle aspects.

Efforts of the Indian Government to bring lifestyle and behavioural changes

The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) led to the construction and use of over 100 million toilets in rural
India within a span of 7 years.
Ujjwala Scheme increased households with LPG connections from 62% in 2015 to 99.8% in 2021.
Swachh Sagar Surakshit Sagar campaign aimed to remove approximately 15,000 tonnes of waste
from 75 beaches in 75 days.

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 Right to repair framework: The Ministry of Consumer Affairs (MCA) has set up a committee to come up
with a Right to Repair framework. The framework is significant as it will give consumers a chance to
repair their products at an optimal cost instead of buying new products altogether.
Ban on single use plastic: The manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of notified
single-use plastic, including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene, commodities have been
prohibited.

What more can be done to facilitate the

transition to sustainable lifestyles?
Measuring impacts of sustainable lifestyles: Accurate and outcome-oriented indicators related to
impact of sustainable choices on the environment are needed to motivate people in bringing
sustainable changes in their lives.
Enabling individual action with collective action: Truly transformative options need to be available,
affordable, and attractive to individuals so that they can make better daily decisions. For this support is
required of all stakeholders including governments, businesses, and institutions. Major interventions
needed from other stakeholders include-

Nudging citizens with information about importance of sustainable lifestyle and health
and wellbeing.
Governments
Incentivising adoption of sustainable options through tools like tax breaks, carbon pricing
etc.
Enabling policy frameworks to encourage and facilitate the adoption of clean
technologies and green initiatives.
Building green infrastructure such as blue-green spaces, sidewalks etc. in urban areas
that facilitate adoption of sustainable lifestyle choices.

Investing in development of environment friendly industrial materials that can be

manufactured sustainably, is durable in use, and are easy to recycle or remanufacture.

Business Making efforts towards decarbonisation of operations.

entities Formulating industrial standards and indicators to avoid greenwashing.

Transforming societal values: Transformational change in societal values needs to occur at three levels
by-
Being responsible and ethical in dealings Sustainable Technology: Innovation
with other people and the environment
Better integrating ourselves into
enabling sustainable living
communities; and Several emerging technologies have the capabilities to
enable sustainable lifestyles-
Reconnecting with and valuing nature.
Internet of Things (IoT): Using IoT-enabled appliances can
Technological transformations: Research
help cut down energy waste through automation and
and development should be oriented
remote access.
towards making sustainable lifestyles
more accessible and affordable for all. Energy storage systems: New advancements in battery
storage systems can make it possible for people to store
Building changemakers through education:
and use power in a much less wasteful manner.
Knowledge about sustainable lifestyles
should be integrated into education Big Data Analytics: By collecting and analysing large pools
programs for all ages to bring about of data, individuals can grow more informed about
transformative change. environmental concerns of their lifestyles.
Meat Alternatives: Plant-based meat substitutes and
artificial meat can fulfil public demand as well as help cut
down emission from meat processing sector.

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 Taking inspiration from cultural and
traditional practices: The average carbon India’s environment-friendly culture and
footprint per person in India is 1.8 tonnes
per year, as compared to the global traditional practices
average of 4.5 tonnes. This is an indicator Use of Plant-based biodegradable utensils
of how sustainability is ingrained in the (sal tree leaves, banana leaves etc.) and
‘Indian way of living’. clayware (kulhad, matka etc.) for cooking
Attitude-Facilitator-Infrastructure (AFI) and serving purposes.
framework: It is a top-down approach to
support government policy, business Water harvesting techniques contextual to
models, institutional arrangements, and local conditions: These include the step
actions that set the conditions necessary wells of Gujarat and Rajasthan, the
for sustainable lifestyles to thrive. underground tanks (tankaa) of Tamil Nadu,
Attitude – pro-sustainability value the check dams (johads) of Rajasthan and
orientation the Zabo system of Nagaland that deposit the water in
Facilitators/ Access – institutional pond-like structures on terraced hillsides.
arrangements and enablers Minimising electricity consumption through
Sustainability infrastructure – the handwashing and sun-drying of clothes
hardware and systems of provision. and utensils
Domains-Based Approach: There are Sustainable dietary preferences: A large
many entry points for sustainable chunk of Indian population consumes
lifestyles, including design and plant-based foods and water conserving
technology, local sustainability issues, and climate resilient millets.
urban greening, minimalism, personal
development, and livelihoods amongst
many others. Such domains should be Upcycling and reuse: When a garment or cloth outlives its
holistically incorporated into function, it is converted into a new product such as bags
understanding sustainable lifestyles. or even used for dusting purposes.

Conclusion
Decoupling economic growth
environmental degradation demands more
and miLFkkLrs vuehok v;{ek vLeH;a
efficient and environmentally friendly lUrq i`fFkfo çlwrk%A
management of resources, including
improving energy efficiency, sustainable nh?k± vk;q% çfrcqè;ekuk o;a
infrastructure, access to basic services, and
providing green and decent jobs to ensure a rqH;a cfyâr% L;ke AA
better quality of life for all. The societal
responsibility to achieve this goal goes “We aspire to live long, our
beyond businesses and requires the children too should live long and
involvement of individual consumers as
active participants. We need to understand
be free from sickness and
that to a enjoy the right to healthy consumption. We are reared in
environment, it is equally important to fulfil the lap of the Mother Earth. May
our duty towards protecting the
we have a long life [provided] we
environment.
are watchful, alert and sacrifice
our all for Her."

Atharva Veda (A.V.) 12.1.62

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 TOPIC AT A GLANCE
Concept introduced by India UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow in 2021.

An international mass movement towards “mindful and deliberate utilization, instead of

mindless and destructive consumption” to protect and preserve the environment.

Puts individual and collective duty on everyone to live a life that is in tune with Earth.

Underlying philosophy of life is rooted in India’s ancient sayings.

Impact of human lifestyles on environment

Food Housing Mobility Consumer goods Leisure

GHG emission and GHG emission and GHG emission and Wasteful use of Biodiversity loss,
pollution from Highly pollution from Mining pollution from growing resources to Planned stress on key
processed and for resources, high Vehicle ownership, obsolescence resources, land
packaged food, energy consumption Resource intensive fragmentation etc.
High waste generation
Household food etc means of transport due to Nature based
and emission due to
wastage, dietary etc. Tourism.
Diminishing natural high demand of
patterns etc.
land cover. globalised products in Wasteful consumption
modern lifestyles. in leisure activities.

Significance of putting
individua/community at the centre of Examples of the lifestyle changes
environmental efforts

Facilitates Tailored approach to environmental efforts. A model of production and consumption, which
Circular involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing,
Encourages environmental problem solving.
lifestyle refurbishing, and recycling existing materials and
Has Long-lasting generational impacts. products as long as possible.
Improves procedural legitimacy of environmental policies. Refers to enabling consumers to independently
Environmental efforts are interlinked with Personal Right to repair and modify their own consumer goods (such
well-being. repair as electronic, automotive, or farm machinery like
Enables effective Monitoring & Evaluation. tractors).
Philosophy that combats mindless consumerism by
Minimalism promoting living simply or living with less.

Zero waste Aims to reduce the amount of waste an individual

living creates on a daily basis.

Individual carefully attends to and be aware of

Mindful his/her consumption needs, while adopting flexible
consumption options and novel approaches in the purchase,
usage and disposal of goods.

Challenges in transitioning to
sustainable lifestyles Way Forward

Iron Cage of Consumerist lifestyles. Measuring impacts of sustainable lifestyles.

Socio-economic inequity and limited availability of sustainable Enabling individual action with collective action from the
choices. Government and Business entities.
Infeasibility of one-size fits all approach. Transforming societal values to be more inclined towards
Paradox of Well-being. environmental protection.
Greenwashing from corporates. Utilizing technological innovation like IoT, Big data etc. for
Low awareness and disconnect from nature. enabling sustainable living.

Difficulties in measuring sustainability Building changemakers through education.

Consideration of the physical limits of the planet not fully Taking inspiration from cultural and traditional practices.
linked to wellbeing. Adopting Attitude-Facilitator-Infrastructure (AFI) framework
Action on and understanding sustainable lifestyles often and Domains-Based approach.
reduced to standard domains.

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